Obama wins Politico.com Straw Poll

Senator Barack Obama scored a victory among progressive activists Wednesday, winning the Politico.com Straw Poll of attendees at the Take Back America Conference in Washington.

Obama received 29% of the 720 votes cast in the straw poll, narrowly beating out former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, and decisively knocking official front-runner Hillary Clinton into third place.

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Edwards took 26% of the vote and Clinton 17%.

The poll establishes Obama and Edwards as a two-man top tier among the liberal segment of the Democratic base, said pollster Stan Greenberg, because they were also the most popular second choices for the nomination.

"If you look at this, you see Obama's [supporters'] second choice and Edwards [supporters'] second choice are each other -- in this group, the two of them form the top tier."

Those results may indicate that a majority of the activists surveyed are looking for a choice other than Clinton.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson came in fourth with 9% of the vote.

Al Gore came in fifth with 8% -- although he has not said he is running and was not included in the choices on the ballot. As a write-in, he beat out four declared candidates.

"Obama clearly has strength and a base and enthusiasm here among a network of progressive groups and activists," said Greenberg, whose Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research adminstered the poll.

Obama delivered an uncharacteristically confrontational performance at Take Back America Tuesday. He lashed the Bush Administration for stubbornness and, he said, for not believing in the Constitution. And he attacked Washington's culture of lobbying.

"They think they own this government but, we are here to tell them today that our government is not for sale and we are taking it back," Obama said to loud applause.

'Beat the GOP'

Many of in the packed ballroom for Obama's speech had come specifically to hear Obama, whose campaign provided tickets for supporters, and they spoke of his personal qualities as much as his policy positions.

"Obama clearly did himself well with a red-meat speech, showing he knows how to appeal to the activists," said conference organizer Roger Hickey. "But the overall message of this poll is that all three of them have their supporters among the activists."

Still, Obama's message was overlaid with non-partisan rhetoric, and early in his speech he was slowed by a group chanting "Beat the GOP."

Edwards, who has campaigned most directly on issues of importance to labor unions and liberal activists, echoed the conference's central theme that the Democratic left is resurgent.

There will be, Edwards said "no more taking half a loaf" in the Edwards presidency.

Some at the conference said they found the clarity of Edwards' message compelling.

"I think that's what the American people want -- simplicity," said Kris Pierce, a Democratic activist from Douglas County, Nebraska.

Clinton and the Netroots

Straw polls are unscientific indicators, and their results are determined in part by who chooses to participate, but the results of the Politico.com survey do suggest that Clinton has more support among liberal activists than might have been predicted from surveys conducted on the internet.

Obama and Edwards have been duking it out in the online straw polls conducted by leading Democratic blogs -- Obama is leading the MyDD straw poll, while Edwards has led the DailyKos straw poll.

Clinton is no favorite of the Netroots, and hardly registers in the online surveys, but was a clear third in the Politico.com Straw Poll.

Clinton's speech, a litany of disputes with the Bush Administration and policy aims, drew a friendly reception, though perhaps not as rapturous as the reaction to her leading rivals. She was interrupted by loud boos when she blamed the Iraqi government for Iraq's current woes.

The survey also asked attendees their second choices for president, which mirrored the first-choice findings: Obama led, followed by Edwards, and then Clinton.

The conference, and the straw poll, also demonstrated the activists' hunger for a victory next November.

The two candidates farthest to the left, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel, were warmly received, but received few votes in the straw poll -- just 5% and 1%, respectively.

And when Ralph Nader, the giant of the 1970s left who may have cost the Democrats the White House in 2000, rose to introduce Gravel, he was met with boos.

Those results may indicate that a majority of the activists surveyed are looking for a choice other than Clinton.